The group build to end all group builds - THE GREAT WAR

Lookin' good Doogs.

Current progress on the Duke.

And one more.Almost there.

TD, hull buddy, looking scary to us. Here comes the German Imperial Navy's finest light cruiser; the Emden.

I've got a ways to go to get caught up. She's on my shop stand, the oak one is on order.

Doog your kite is right, Jolly good and away you go. Give the Hun Hell!

I have my summer reading set up. Robert Massie's "Castles of Steel" about the British/ German naval exchanges of WWI. As I know nothing about this war, it all is worthwhile to me to read. But I came across a fact in Chapter 1, where the Kaiser sent the East Asian Squadron to Shanghai to support the European Powers during the Boxer Rebellion, with a command to the effect that the Germans would suppress China for a thousand years as the Huns did Europe. Is that the genesis of the term?

I am so looking forward the Emden being launched.

I still have to add a few pieces to the Duke,and then add a bit of weathering.After that I'll base her up.

I'm not sure about the weathering.Other than a little rust,I'm clueless.I've never weathered a battleship.

You guys are making great progress on the ships, can't wait to see the rigging on those things.

Here's my Fokker DR1 (dragon 1/48) - pales in comparison to the great job Wingnut & Doogs did, but I'm satifisfied with the build dispite a bunch of errors on my part.

waikong - nice job on the Dreidecker.   The prop has me guessing if it s the the real thing.  How did you do the camou streaking and what colour paint?  Also a general question to all in the know, why are the tires of these biplanes light grey, did they use a different rubber formula back then?

regards,

Jack

You know, I was watching the show "American Restorations" and he had a hunk of metal for a old vending machine, and he used some sort of technique with his airbrush to make it look like wood, and it looked really, really good.  I really want to learn how he did it, seems like the kind of thing taht would do wonders for this hobby

Hey fellas....yeah I know, it's been a while, but I gotta tell ya, from the bipes to the tripes, the ships, the tanks, & the figs, you guys have been turning out a lot of first rate stuff! Took me a while to catch up, what with all the progress pics - man, I was just blown away by what I saw! With the daylight hours up here lasting until almost 11:30 pm and the unbelievably great weather we've been having, my other passion, gardening & yardwork, has kicked in big-time, so my lonely Hisso remains without further progress for close to 5 weeks now (but the yard is looking great ). I know the bug will bite soon to get back to the bench, but for now, I can still hear the call of the great outdoors. When I do get back to the bench, I just hope I can keep the bar up where you fellas have set it - it's WAY up there!

Guys - the Emden, Duke and Fokker all look great!

waikong - don't sell yourself short, man! If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have guessed that was 1/48!

Also...time for the final Pupdate! She's done! I didn't finish until 3 AM last night, so no pictures. Hoping to stage a photo shoot when the kids go down for their nap and post some pics later today.

Overall...great kit...way outside my comfort zone...learned as much what not to do as what to do, LOL...and I'm looking forward to building another Pup in a few months!

P.S. - I'm also kicking off a Nieuport 17 very soon. Not going to commit it here since this one isn't technically WWI, but it'll be in the Wild Wings GB if anybody wants to follow along.

Thanks for the compliment, much appreciated.

For the 'wood' prop, I basically used a variation of the technique that Marc (wingnut) used. I based coated with Tamiya acrylic buff, this was followed by diluted dark brown oil paint applied with a flat brush.  This allows me to use the brush to leave streaks that become the grain. I think used a smaller clean brush with thinner and removed much of the paint from the middle area to create the laminated look.  After everything dried (took about 2 days), I gave everything a diluted coat of sienna, which added more an reddish tint. After that dried, I used a coat of Future to simulate varnishing.

The streaks was a pain, I wasn't quite sure what to do at first. I based coat with olive drab, then I used a fine tip brush to stread on Dark Green.  I varied the tone by using different dilution and concentrations.  It came out a bit 'thicker' than I had hoped, but overall was happy with the effect.

As for the gray rubber, I''m no expert by any means, but I've heard that carbon black was introduced to rubber around 1914.  But it was used universally until later. So you had both black and 'natural' rubber tires during this period.

Doog, we want some pictures of that Pup!

waikong

Doog, we want some pictures of that Pup!

Ask and ye shall receive! Here are the "studio" shots. I've got others I'm hoping to photoshop into some "location" shots, but won't get to those until later tonight.

Looks fantastic!  Love the way the rigging and buckles cameout, really nice.

Masterful build!

Doogs - grats on the completion... looks great from here.

Very very sweet build Doog. You've got the attention to detail to match the skills required to get very impressive results. One question though: which uni-mono thread did you use. I have some the ultra light Caenis thread made by Uni that is so light weight that I find it difficult to use it at all. The fly shop does carry other Uni lines however: which one did you use? (Still not really sure how you got thread taught with the way by rigging the upper wing before install. I'll have to go through the build again step by step.) I take it you didn't find the cabane fit solid enough to glue them in first, attach the upper wing and wiggle the big struts in. Des thought the Wingnut fit precise enough to do that as I recall. I've got a WN Pfalz at home ready to roll after I fight Waterloo with Konig - question is whether I take it on directly or build the Academy Nieuport for more bipe practice. Des thinks the Nieuport is actually a good kit - not sure I'd say that about their Camel. The Pfalz is so pretty I don't want to mess it up.

I like the Tripe. Beyond being perhaps the most famous aircraft of WWI (thanks to the red one, it was actually a very minor player - about 300 made as I recall) it doesn't need have the fancy rigging of the other kits. I suppose you could have added your own to impress folk. Des at WWI recommends the Tripe as one of the best "first timer" bipes because there's so little rigging involved. The paint job is very nice and that's why people like German aircraft - they have neat colors. I don't know what color WWI tires were, but after haunting some very good boards and lists, grey is the shade of choice among Bipe loonies. I followed the WWIaircraft advice and used graphite for them: worked very well.

History trivia: The Kaiser had a big mouth and there wasn't a soul in the German government that thought Germany would dominate China for 1,000 years. The huns were real enough though. They were a probably a group of warrior nomadic tribes unified by a string of charismatic leaders the most famous of which was Attila. They terrorized Europe and the western steppe for about a century: about 450 AD give or take their empire was huge. After Attila died they simply disapered: no doubt terrorized each other. We're not even sure what language they spoke: early Turkic is a good guess. Their reputation of pointless cruelty made them a fodder for legend among Germans, although the Huns killed more Germans than other peoples probably. Hence the idiotic remark by the Kaiser which made good fodder for British propaganda during WWI. Very odd guy, the Kaiser, wanting to identify his soldiers with probably the most nihilistic group of barbarians in history. Brit soldiers called the Huns "Jerry" or "Fritz" and only rarely "the Hun" - reason not clear. Maybe they weren't good at Turkic.    

Eric

EBergerud

Very very sweet build Doog. You've got the attention to detail to match the skills required to get very impressive results. One question though: which uni-mono thread did you use. I have some the ultra light Caenis thread made by Uni that is so light weight that I find it difficult to use it at all. The fly shop does carry other Uni lines however: which one did you use? (Still not really sure how you got thread taught with the way by rigging the upper wing before install. I'll have to go through the build again step by step.) I take it you didn't find the cabane fit solid enough to glue them in first, attach the upper wing and wiggle the big struts in. Des thought the Wingnut fit precise enough to do that as I recall. I've got a WN Pfalz at home ready to roll after I fight Waterloo with Konig - question is whether I take it on directly or build the Academy Nieuport for more bipe practice. Des thinks the Nieuport is actually a good kit - not sure I'd say that about their Camel. The Pfalz is so pretty I don't want to mess it up.

Thanks Eric! I still maintain this one looks good from a distance but kind of falls apart when you get close. Mainly due to that stupid Tamiya dusting. Next one will go better.

For the rigging, I used Uni-Mono Fine .004" - you can find it here. It's very thin (.1mm) but I didn't find it any harder to deal with than fishing line. Actually easier, since it'll slot through the tubing more easily.

As far as rigging the upper wing...doing that first was only so I wouldn't have to rig upside down in such tight spaces. It certainly saved some time, but I think I may only pre-rig about half the wing next time around.

I actually attached all of the struts at the same time. Since I pre-rigged, I didn't want to deal with wiggling and risking eyebolts or anything (of course, I still popped a good dozen during the rigging!). The fit was good enough that I probably could have gotten away with not gluing, but I used a dollop of Gators Grip in each strut hole.

If you're nervous, you may want to check out the Nieuport. It looks like a cinch next to the Pup. The fuselage rigging holes are...interesting...thinking I might wrap some line around some brass rod, stuff it through the holes, then let the rod keep it from coming out again. 

WOWSER!  Look at all the stuff going on in here.

Doogs, your right..it's not my DVa.  That ones the worng color and I just saw mine on my bech not a minuyte ago  But oyur Pup is damn nice.  It really truned out great. 

Td, Bondo... you guys are doing a hull of good job.  Yeah yeah, quit oyur groaning,.  I knbow it was bad.

Waikong That look really nice.  You don't have to worry about comparingthat to anyting.

MIKE!!!  Great to see yiou still aliove and kicking.  When I didn't get an answer to the emal I snet I was gettign kind of worried.

A happy belated Father’s Day to all you dads out there.  And a great Father's Day it was.  A day of relaxation, dinner with family... and form my mom... instructions to buy the kit of my choice as my gift.  I've been to the WNW site already but can't decide.  I am thinking of doing a "D.Va Redux"

The 1st thing for the day was to complete this piece.  All finished up.  The bench, sawhorse and tool box are all made form basswood.  The tools are from  http://vectorcut.com/accessoriesHO.htm  Laser cut paper that's just simply amazing.  I don’t have a magnifier strong enough to see if it can be read but there is writing in the depressions in the tools handles.  The ground work is a mat from http://www.model-scene.com/  

Doog,

OK: what size sleeves did you use? Bob at Bob's Buckles (love that name: say it five times fast) sells precut brass tubing at .5mm - the same width as the "midge" tubing I used. (That was your idea if you recall and a really good one. I will not try to cut a few dozen mini-pieces of brass rod, especially with Bob offering it so cheap: delivery very fast too. Anyone wanting a good look at rigging stuff should check out the site: http://www.bobsbuckles.co.uk/index.html. And, yup, he also sells buckles.) 2lb fly line is about .11mm and it went through the plastic tubing like a champ. Des, purist that he is, uses .4mm brass tubing and bores it out a little. He says he uses Maxima - I don't think they make anything smaller than 2lb. The line you recommend is .004" - Maxima claims .005" for (.11mm) for their 2lb. Anyway, I used 2lb PLine (great stuff if you fish: Japanese). BTW: the Caneis line I referred to is .002" or .05mm - Stockhard measured it specifically for modeling. That's thin. Might come in handy if you ever decide to put full rigging on a 1/72 scale bipe - course that might be cruel and unusual punishment and hence illegal except at Gitmo. (Like your tank too. The owner of the local shop a while back was going nuts with snow: what he wanted was to get both glitter and dirt - which is what ice looks like on vehicles. At the time,m he couldn't figure the right combination. Am awaiting your final results. I really think my next tank will have winter camo, something I've never done. Need all available inspiration.)

WN: absolutely splendid Albatross. I really like the understated dio also. I too have some doll house material: a type of old fashioned glue some gurus recommend for ship rigging. Although I can't get used to something that's beyond your control. That lozenge camo reminds me of a "low rider" or a hot rod with flame painted on: just not a purple fan unless it covers a Minnesota Viking. I know it's good history though and that must count for something.   

Eric

I think you've built ypurself a Gold Medalist there wing!

I was going to finish and post pics of the Duke today,but the dull coat did the exact oppsite of what it is for!What a PITA!Everything has a bit of a sheen to it.

I'm gonna have to pick up a new can from the LHS Maybe later tonite I'll have the pics up.

TD4438

I was going to finish and post pics of the Duke today,but the dull coat did the exact oppsite of what it is for!What a PITA!Everything has a bit of a sheen to it.

I'm gonna have to pick up a new can from the LHS Maybe later tonite I'll have the pics up.

If you can find it, try a can of Tamiya Flat Clear. Stuff works.

I normally use Testors dullcoat in the black and white can.Works great.

All I currently have is Testors Lusterless (#1960).Fancy name and packaging for something that doesn't work.

HMS Iron Duke reporting for duty!

TD

Very clean build on a veteran kit. I did the same kit a few months back. You did a better job than yours truly on drilling out the port holes. I remember them being stuck on rather haphazardly by Airfix. Yours like very good. How'd you do it?

Eric

EBergerud

TD

Very clean build on a veteran kit. I did the same kit a few months back. You did a better job than yours truly on drilling out the port holes. I remember them being stuck on rather haphazardly by Airfix. Yours like very good. How'd you do it?

Eric

Marc - that is one heck of a build and display, terrific work!  I noticed you had a post in the figure forum for a civilian, was that for this display?

TD4438 - very crisp paint job - any masking or freehand brush work involved?  I do hope you add some rigging to her, it will make it appear that much more impressive.

regards,

Jack

Thanks for the compliments.No plans for rigging at this time.I wish I had that particular talent.The only thing I masked off and sprayed was the lower hull (except the props).Everything above the black water line was free handed with a good old fashioned bristle brush.

TD... very nice indeed.  I thought the portholes were drilled out too.  I will update the roster with the "Finished Page". 

Thanks again for the comments.

jgeratic1

I noticed you had a post in the figure forum for a civilian, was that for this display?

Jack, no it was not but it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a guy working on something.  I was looking for a guy to be standing at one of those gigantic listening devices.  Either what I have in my head doesn't exist, or I am just not looking in the right places, but there's not a lot inthe way of just "people".

TD - Very nice! I tore through all the books of the Destroyermen series recently (WWII sailors on a WWI-era four-stacker destroyer get transported to an alternate earth where dinosaurs never went extinct and intelligent life evolved far differently...), and it's definitely piqued my interest in WWI floaty things. May have to branch into ships at some point...

I, too, thought the portholes were drilled out. Excellent job on those!